by HonestAbe » Sat Oct 26, 2013 07:18:24 PM
Despite the pretentious title, it seems Northland Immigration Services is a one-woman show with an unnamed lawyer on the side. The proprietor's name, Harriet Huyen Vu, makes one wonder whether she's a Vietnamese refugee or immigrant, herself. Coincidentally, I drove by her place last week; I could have stopped in and asked her. I was shocked by the large number of foreign workers doing minimum wage jobs in Regina and throughout Saskatchewan so I take it her business is booming.
Saskatchewan is one of those provinces where paralegals don't handle small claims court cases, only lawyers. Maybe they will catch up with the rest of the provinces one day, but for now because of cost, she would have to get a friend or family member to file for her with an affidavit. Not sure how affidavits work with nonresidents though. But then she might not know anyone here.
That leaves filing a complaint with the ICCRC governing body, which is something she could do herself. Having said this, there was no information posted on the contract terms, without which it's impossible to determine if misrepresentation occurred. Usually people who don't speak the language require sponsorship as with the case of 2 very fine Chinese people I know. If she signed a contract hiring advocacy services when she would have been ineligible for entry anyway, then that would constitute gross misrepresentation which would voided the contract because the immigration consultant should have known that. Since there was no info about the lady's circumstances other than her language barrier, it's impossible to conclude anything.
When you hire a lawyer, to represent your cause in court, there is no guarantee you will win. As long as the lawyer provided services that were consistent with their governing body's professional standards, the lawyer has discharged his/her obligations. Immigration advocacy is also a legal service, or more accurately a paralegal service that sometimes enlists the help of lawyers. Obviously, consultants can't guarantee anything either. That extends to Immigration officers, too. The last Immigration Canada officer who did guarantee a lady acceptance in return for "favours" is now in jail.
Like credit repair and debt settlement, immigration consulting was one of those industries that exploited pipe dreams through false promises. Therefore the various provincial governments cracked down on those endeavours by regulating them through licensing standards. That still doesn't mean everyone in those industries is reputable, only that they pay sufficient adherence to the letter of the law to avoid prosecution. Whatever went on between the lady and Ms. Vu, we don't know, but the first step would be to file a complaint which is available online with the ICCRC.